Frank r



'.E'. R. TATE.

' (No Model.)

BUCKLE.

N0. 474,198. Patented May 3, 1892.

w MIWM 4 Hm F r Unirse STATES Ferarri*Y OFFICE.

FRANK R. TATE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES L.BLAIR, OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,198, dated May 3,1892.

Application iiled April 8, 1889. Serial No. 306,339. (llo model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t mag/concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK R. TATE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain Improvements inBuckles, of' which the following is a specification.

My invention consists of certain improvements in or modifications of thebuckle forming the subject of Benjamin S. VVashs patent, No. 335,490,dated February 2, 1886, the main object of my invention being to somodify the construction of said patented buckle that it can be morereadily and cheaply manufac-V tured, a further object being to obviatethe necessity of cutting away the opposite edges of the strap where thesame is applied to the tongue-bar of the buckle. These objects I attainin the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is an exaggerated perspectiveview of a buckle constructed'in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 isa plan view ofthe buckle, showing the same applied to a strap. Fig. 3 isa sectional view ofthe buckle, showingbotli straps. Fig. 4 is a sideView of the buckle, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a modifled form of thebuckle.

The buckle described in the aforementioned patent of B. S. Washconsisted of a front por tion or bow having at its inner endslaterally-inset portions forming bearings for the tongue-bar of thebuckle, the ends of said tongue-bar extending beyond said inset portionsof the bow and being secured by means of side extensions to a yoke orcross-bar running above the tonguebar, and at such an angle in respectto the tongue that when the latter was in engagementv with the frontportion of the bow the yoke projected above said bow and served not onlyas a keeper for the free end of the strap, but also as a' lever, bydepressing which the tongue could be raised, so as to facilitate therelease of the strap therefrom. y

Although the principle of the WVash buckle is a good one, a seriousobjection to said buckle was found to be the expense of manufacturing.the same, the bow, and also the yoke, tongue, and tongue-bar beingexpensive malleable castings, portions of which were,

owing to their small size, liable to be defective, and hence apt to bebroken in assembling and securing the parts in their proper relation toeach other.

In manufacturing the buckle on a commercial scale I found that materialchanges in its construction were necessary in order to simplify andcheapen such manufacture. I therefore make the bow B of the buckle inthe form of a simple loop of wire, the ends of which are bent so as toform the eyes or bearings b for the tongue-bar a., the tongue A, itsbar, and the combined operating-yoke and strap-retainer O being formedof another piece of wire. One end of this wire forms the tongue, thewire being then bent at right angles to the tongue, so as to passthrough one of the pivot-eyes of the bow, and being then bent to formthe yoke C, a final bend permitting the other end portion of the Wire topass through the opposite eye of the bow and. form the other half of thetongue-bar, the end of the wire abutting against the base of the tongueand being preferably secured thereto, an operation which is readilyeffected by the tinning operation to which the wire is subjected afterit is bent into form. Vhen the pieces of wire forming the blanks for thetongue, tongue-bar, and yoke are cut in succession from a continuouslength of wire, an extremely snug fit of the inner end of the wireagainst the base of the tongue is permitted, owing to the fact that saidend is nicked or has a V- shaped recess formed in it by reason of thepointing of the end of the tongue of the succeeding blank cut from thebar, so that the inner end of the wire not only abuts against, butoverlaps the base of the tongue. By this means the tongue is rmly bracedand lateral deflection of the same is effectually prevented. Thepivot-eyes b on the wire bow are formed in the same plane as the sidebars of the bow, instead of being inset, as in the patented buckle, theside bars of the yoke C being laterally offset for the reception of theeyes b. The full width of the bow at its inner is thus available for thereception of the fixed end of the strap which is secured to thetonguebar, as shown in Fig. 2, whereas the inset ends of the bow in thepatented buckle necessitated the cutting away of the strap at each edgefor IOO the reception of said inset portions. The advantages of myimproved buckle, as regards simplicity and cheapness of manufacture,may, however, be attained if this feature of the in- 5 vention is notadopted. For instance, in Fig. 4 I have shown a buckle in which theinner ends of the bow are laterally bent, so that the side arms of theyoke O are throughout in the same plane as the side arms of the bow.

1o As my improved buckle is formed wholly of wire, the cost of the sameis reduced to the minimum, owing to the low cost of the material and thefacility with which it can be worked into the different forms, thebuckle 15 being formed complete in one machine, as the only operationrequired in fitting the two parts together is the closing of the eyes baround the tongue-bar a.

Having described my invention, l claim and zo desire to secure byLetters Patent- `l. The combination, in a buckle, of the bow consistingof a wire loop having its ends bent to form pivot-eyes, with a structurecomprising the tongue, tongue-bar, and operating- 25 yokeextendingupwardtherefrom,said structure consisting of a single-piece of wire forming,rst, the tongue, then a portion of the tongue-bar, then theupwardly-extending operating-yoke, and, finally, the remaining por- 3otion of the tongue-bar, the wire at the inner end of the latter abuttingagainstthe base of the tongue, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a buckle, 'of the bow consisting of a wire loophaving its ends bent 3 5 to form pivot-eyes, with a structure comprisingthe tongue, tongue-bar, and operatingyoke extendingupward therefrom,said structure consisting of a single piece of wire forining, first, thetongue, then a portion of the tongue-bar, then the upwardly-extendingop: 4o @rating-yoke, and, finally, the remaining portion of thetongue-bar, the wire at' the inner end of the latter being nicked, so asto abut against and overlap the top and bottom of the tongue at the baseof the same, substantially 45 as specied.

3. The combination, in a buckle, of the bow consisting ot' a wire loophaving its ends bent to form pivot-eyes in the Vsame plane as the sidesof the bow, with a structure consisting 5o of a single piece of wirebent to form the ltongue, tongue-bar, and operatingyoke eX- tendingupward from sai d bar, the yoke having offset side portions forreceiving the eyes of the bow and the4 end of the wire forming 55 partofthe tongue-bar abutting against the base of the tongue, substantiallyas specified.

4. The combination,in a buckle, of the bow consisting of a wire loophaving its ends bent to form pivot-eyes in the same plane as the 6osides of the bow, with a structure consisting of a single piece of wirebent to form a tongue,

tongue-bar, and operating-yoke extending u p-

